Osun APC Tackles Adeleke’s Brother, Davido, Melaye Over Vote-Buying Claims

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed allegations of vote-buying against its governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, describing the claims as fabricated and politically motivated.

The party also challenged Dr Deji Adeleke, brother of Governor Ademola Adeleke; music star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido; and Senator Dino Melaye to substantiate their allegations that the APC deployed huge sums of money to influence voters during last Saturday’s governorship election.

In a statement signed by the Osun State APC Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, the party said the conflicting figures allegedly cited by the three individuals showed that the accusations lacked credibility.

According to the APC, while Deji Adeleke was reported to have alleged that the party spent N70 billion on vote-buying, Davido reportedly put the figure at N120 billion, while Melaye allegedly claimed N60 billion.

The party described the disparity as evidence that the allegations were not based on facts, but were intended to discredit the APC and its candidate, who polled 444,815 votes against Governor Adeleke’s 511,067 votes.

“It was disheartening that some respected members of the public could mortgage their status for political idle talks to turn themselves into purveyors of falsehoods in order to misinform the innocent members of the public,” the statement said.

The APC further alleged that there were instances of vote-buying by supporters of the Accord Party during the election, claiming that photographs and video recordings of such incidents had circulated widely.

It consequently challenged the three personalities to explain what it described as cash payments made by the state government to workers and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) shortly before the election.

The party specifically questioned the purpose of an alleged N20,000 payment made to state workers three days before the election, as well as an alleged N50,000 payment to each NYSC member serving in the state.

It also accused the state government of extending what it described as political inducements to pensioners ahead of the poll.

The APC said the payments should be investigated to determine whether they amounted to vote-buying, arguing that its opponents were accusing the party of an offence it did not commit.

“Our party did not engage in vote-buying during the election,” the statement said, alleging instead that supporters of the Accord Party were responsible for acts it described as “morally and constitutionally considered an aberration.”

The party maintained that Oyebamiji’s performance, which saw him secure 444,815 votes and give the incumbent governor what it described as the fiercest political battle of his career, demonstrated the strength of the APC in the state.

It called on the public to disregard what it described as unsubstantiated allegations and challenged those making the claims to provide evidence to support them.